Jesus, THE Christ

It may be that I am too critical about some things, but this has bothered me for years. Most people I know say Jesus Christ, leaving out His middle name. He began as Jesus of Nazareth and throughout His lifetime this is how He was known. Only a few knew Him as Messiah or Christ. A few more called Him Lord. How do you think of Jesus when you say His name?

When we read the Bible, we must realize that it means what it says. For instance; most people don’t know who the first evangelist was. The first one sent out with a commission to preach was the Gadarine Demoniac. He was told, by Jesus, to spread the word about Him. Any idea as to who was the first ‘Born Again ’ Christian? It was the thief on the cross beside Jesus, but he wasn’t born again while on the cross. While on the cross he became a believer in who Jesus was, and Jesus promised to take him to paradise. He only became born again after he saw Jesus raised from the dead. We not only have to believe that Jesus is Lord, but also that God raised Him from the dead. He had already repented of his sins while on the cross. These examples demonstrate what Jesus said – “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners”. Jesus had to be resurrected before anyone could be saved.

Jesus was also called Emanuel (God with us), but I can’t find many examples of people who called Him that. The fact remains that He is God, and He was with us. He is still with us today in the form of “the Seven Fold Spirit of God”, also known as the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, the Spirit of God and other descriptions. He said He would never leave us or forsake us, and the Spirit fulfills that function.

Now, I would like to get back to His ‘middle name’. People didn’t refer to him as Jesus Nazareth. You put in the ‘of’ to signify where He was from. In the same way we need to add ‘the’ to signify who He is. He is the Christ! Wouldn’t it be a lot harder for someone, who wanted to use His name in vain, to say Jesus the Christ instead of saying Jesus Christ? If they added the ‘the’ they would be proclaiming His Lordship, instead of degrading His name. That would be in opposition to what they intended to accomplish. Perhaps it would be good, if when we hear someone blaspheme His name, we should just look at them and say ‘yes He is’. Yes, I do know what is in our hearts when we call Him Jesus Christ, and it is also in the Bible that way (which makes it acceptable). When we Christian’s say Jesus Christ we know we mean Jesus, who is the Christ.

We all like to take shortcuts; however, I think it diminishes the majesty of the word (title) Christ (Messiah) when we take this shortcut. I am not trying to condemn anyone or put condemnation on anyone, but rather just giving food for thought. If we know in our hearts that Jesus is THE Christ, we and the apostles know the majesty of the name no matter how we express it. Upon reflection; the Father is The Lord God Almighty, Jesus is The Christ and The Holy Spirit (the third part of the Trinity) is The Seven Fold Spirit of God. Amen?

Rick Rahn